Amy Award delivers a delightful blend of humour, heart, and heat in The Anaconda Downstairs. This sports romance strikes the perfect balance between swoon-worthy moments and laugh-out-loud chaos, creating a story that's impossible to put down.
The standout element here is the hero—a cinnamon roll football player who redefines the term "supportive." His journey from rule-following linebacker to a man head over heels in love with someone he never expected to fall for is tender and emotionally satisfying. Meanwhile, the heroine, Penelope, shines as a curvy, confident woman navigating her path to self-acceptance. Their dynamic is sizzling, sweet, and steeped in genuine respect, making every moment between them a joy to experience.
Award masterfully layers the romance with quirky, unforgettable scenarios—yes, there's an anaconda in the house—and injects the story with warmth and humour. The Kingman family dynamic, a boisterous and lovable clan reminiscent of a Bridgerton-style family but with an American football twist, is pure gold. It leaves readers wishing for more time with this lively group.
The audiobook narration is a treat in itself, elevating the experience even further. Aaron Shedlock and Juniper Young bring the characters to life with impeccable performances, capturing the story's heart and humour. Shedlock's smooth, expressive voice perfectly embodies the hero's blend of strength and vulnerability, while Young's vibrant portrayal of Penelope effortlessly captures her sass and charm. Their chemistry enhances an already fantastic story.
With its winning combination of a charming romance, laugh-out-loud moments, and heartfelt exploration of love and self-worth, The Anaconda Downstairs is a standout read that will leave listeners with a warm, fuzzy feeling long after the final chapter.

This may be my favorite Kingman book yet. I thought Weiner would always hold my heart, but it has taken a backseat to the Anaconda.

While I miss some of the higher heat from the previous books, this book gave us a more in depth look into our two MC’s, which I feel they both deserved. Especially Everette.
Up until this point Everette has been portrayed as the kindhearted himbo of the fam. He loves his family, but he also likes to play the field with every woman that crosses his path and has no plans for settling down. Right?
As for Miss Pen, we finally get to fully meet her. I wish we had gotten a little more background on Pen though. I wish we’d heard more about her past, but I get timing and flow sometimes just don’t allow these things. As I said this is my favorite Kingman book yet. I think it really had to do with Everette's unfurling. Getting to see the layers that were lingering under guise of presumed playboy and finding the sweetest of cinnamon rolls.

I got this as an audiobook, so I would be remise if I didn’t mention the narrators. For this installment we have two brand new narrators in Aaron Shedlock, and Juniper Young. This is my first time hearing either of them as narrators, and I can say I was pleased. They both have a pleasant timbre. Neither of them are distracting when they change tones to differentiate between a male/female character. Furthermore, props to both narrators for even going further to have slightly different inflection between characters of their own sex. Something that is sometimes lacking with other narrators.
The chapters and sections flowed easily and were well delineated.

⭐️: 4.5/5

Penelope needs to find a date for the award ceremony she is attending with her pop star best friend. Pen has the perfect person to ask for advice the Love guru of the Kingman family, Everett. Everett takes on the task even though he knows it’s a bad (or maybe the best) idea. This is Pen, his brother’s fiancés best friend, off limits to the max, but can he really stay away.

🏈 Football Romance
💕 Dating Lessons
🏈 Forbidden Romance
💕 Curvy FMC
🏈 Cinnamon Roll MMC

This was my first ALC and I had the pleasure of ARCing the ebook as well. I loved this audiobook, the acting was chefs kiss 💋. I particularly loved Juniper Young’s voices for the different characters throughout the book. Also a perfect choice in Aaron Shedlock for one of our green flag Kingmans. My favorite line in particular from the audio, I included in my edit! Hearing the story come to life was so good, especially with the romcom style writing, it added another dimension to the story to hear the characters.

If you are looking for a lighthearted romcom romance with MMCs that will make you melt Amy Awards books are the way to go. Always a go to for body positivity as well! This book definitely did not disappoint, I was in a bit of a slump and this pulled me right out. It is so hard to put the Kingman Men on a list because they all would take the number one slot in their own way. I love the relationship between Pen and Everett. They both tried to keep their feelings from one another, but still it brought them closer together. I can never say enough how I love the Kingman family, the way they rally around each other and their friends. A must read!

Another critter. Another winner!

This series never disappoints! Going into this book I knew what to expect - blush inducing romance, goofy moments, and at least one knowing side eye from Princess Jules.

Narration:
As someone who primarily consumes books through audio, I can say with confidence that Aaron Shedlock and Juniper Young absolutely smashed this one. They consistently create clear separation between each character’s voice (side characters included!) and individual personalities really come through. I didn’t need to guess how anyone was feeling because Aaron and Juniper did more than narrate. They really let their acting skills shine. It was super easy to follow who is a part of a scene/conversation without needing to replay parts of the story. I intentionally held off on reading this because the audiobooks for this series never miss!

The Story:
Getting to see Everett escape his Lady’s Man persona while working to uplift Penelope had me smiling and feeling all warm and fuzzy. Penelope DEFINITELY deserved her own love story and I was so pleased with how it played out. I experienced a rollercoaster of emotions and loved every minute of it. My favorite thing about this series are the ‘calling in the calvary’ moments. Every piece of the puzzle feels intentional. Every character behaves in ways that just *make sense* for who they are and the skills they bring to the table.

The Spice:
This one hit the sweet spot. There’s enough to make you feel a little tingly and giddy. Very much in line with the previous books in the series. The consistency in this area is very much appreciated!

This book had me laughing out loud numerous times throughout the book. Penelope was such a fun FMC and even though she was confident, she showed us that she struggles and has insecurities too. Everett is such a swoon worthy. guy and he is very into Penelope and all of her curves. When he agrees to help her learn to date, he knows that there is a chance that he will fall for her. This story had plenty of spice but also some wholesome moments with Everett's family. I have not read the other 3 books in the series, but probably will!

Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Audio 🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧

Narrated by: Aaron Shedlock & Juniper Young

The audio is great!! I loved the narration and how they made me
Laugh out loud at the Kingman clan.

A good audio for me brings out the emotions and laughs while I listen and boy did this audio hit it!

The story awesome!!! I do love my curry worshipping Kingmans’ and all their shenanigans!!!

This is Everett’s story and we get to see him fall for Kelsey’s bestie Penelope/ Pen! One asks Everett for days lessons not realizing he already has been harboring a crush on her. See the hilarious downfall of Everett as he tries to deny his feelings for Pen.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ALC!

#TheAnacondaDownstairs #amyaward #amyawardauthor #romcom #audiobook #audio #kingman #romancereader #booklover #bookworm #bookboyfriend
#NetGalley

My favorite of the Kingman series! While I do enjoy the fluff, it can be hard at times to look past unrealistic parts of the series. That said, Penelope is the most relatable and authentic of all the Kingman ladies thus far. She is a work in progress, as are most of us plus sized chicks. She’s insecure, vulnerable, and earnest. She’s a total baddie who doesn’t see everything she brings to the table. Everett does though!

Pleased with the narrator performances. That said, Christian Fox in C*ck was hot AF and might be my favorite performance of all time, more of him please!! Overall, it’s a fun piece of fluff with a firmer foot in reality.

The Anaconda Downstairs by Amy Award @amyawardbooks

Narrated by: @aaronshedlock and @thevoiceofjuniper

I love the Kingman brothers and the world that Amy has created! The besties, the punny pets, the excellent plus-size rep! Amy nailed it again!

This story follows Penelope and Everett as he uses his skills as a love guru to help her work on her flirting skills. Despite being a gorgeous plus size queen, Penelope struggles with self acceptance, especially being in the media as the bff of a famous pop star.

Amy is a master at writing real and relatable curvy FMCs, and I love the vulnerability she added to Penelope’s journey. Everett steps up to support her and struggles with body positivity issues himself. Their relationship is heartwarming and inspiring.

Juniper was excellent at capturing Penelope’s emotions. She was tender, yet strong and her acting choices reflected that. Her voice is soothing and sultry, and you will swoon! I loved her portrayal of side characters too. She perfectly captured Pen’s bff Kelsey’s vivacious energy.

Aaron’s portrayal of Everett was wonderful. His rich and sensual performance was hilarious and heartfelt. I’ve never loved the way a narrator delivered the word douchepotato more!

Amy Award has done it again. I bought the written version when it first dropped earlier this year and have been imagining what Everett and Penny would sound like since. The voice actors chosen for this book fit so perfectly with what I had imagined and I fell in love with the book all over again. Ev and Pen work so well and I loved getting the story that was hinted at all throughout PND. It was also nice to get the view of other characters for plot points in PND and the "behind the scenes" style the book fell into at some points worked perfectly for these characters. Love Amy Award. Love The Cocky Kingmans, Love The Anaconda Downstairs.

Edit: Audiobook ARC. I had the chance to listen to the audiobook before the release of 11/29. And it was great! I loved it! Both narrators were excellent and made the story even better. Now I already read the ebook so I knew the story and still loved it. Definitely worth a listen to. My rating is the same as the ebook. Hope everyone enjoys this story as much as I did. 😁

Penelope and Everett’s turn.

This story is occurring at the same time as the third book. The mentions of Penelope and Everett in that book make a whole lot more sense in this book.

Tropes:
Love/flirting lessons
Off limits
He fell first
Cinnamon roll MMC

Now all the Kingman in this series are great and totally swoon worthy. They love their curvy women so much, you can’t help but smile and giggle. Penelope and Everett’s story was great and didn’t see that coming when she was mentioned in book 2

Penelope is about body positivity, but sometimes those nagging feelings/thoughts rear their ugly head and takes a toll on her. She is the assistant to Kelsey Best who is the queen of Body Positivity. She is also behind running the fan page for the Besties. She is needing some help in the romance department and with getting a date for the Grampys. Who better to help her than the Kingmans’s own love guru, Everett Kingman?

Everett is known as the “love guru” and ladies man, but truly just wants to find the one. How is he supposed to help Penelope without falling for her? That’s if he hasn’t already fallen for her?

Such a cute and full of body positivity in this book. You can’t help but stand a little taller and feel better of oneself.

Would I recommend? Yes esp if you have read the first 3 books.

Would I re-read? I plan on listening to the audiobook when it releases at the end of the month so yes.

4.5 stars but rounding up to five because this was so easy to read, fun and some Bridgerton references that made me smile. (The FMC full name.)

I LOVED this! These voices lends the characters so much depth! I laughed and snorted my way through this!

I adore this entire series! It’s steamy, it’s sweet, it’s low angst! It’s everything I adore and more!! I look forward to reading each one of the Kingman books!!

This book was outstanding. I love the body positivity message. I love the characters the entire Kingman family is amazing. I would love to have them as my neighbors.
The way Amy can make you feel while listening or reading her books is something I wasn't expecting.
The story is about finding love and it hit the mark.

I was excited to read this next installment in the Kingman brothers series and I was not disappointed. This was a fun read with lots of body positivity presented in a very personal perspective. Not as much spice as previous books but still hot. Looking forward to the next book.

This is the fourth book in Amy Award’s Cocky Kingmans series of curvy girl/football romances. Each book focuses on a different couple out of this group of siblings, so each can be enjoyed on its own, although if you read them out of order, there will be minor spoilers since the stories do interconnect.

Based on the title and cover, I was expecting a romantic comedy, a genre I usually love. But I feel like I was not part of the target audience for this series, and the story didn’t work for me. It feels very new adult with the constant social media references, modern slang I couldn’t always follow, and emphasis on personal growth and body positivity interspersed with very immature behavior and explicit sex scenes. I appreciate the body positivity message, but it overshadowed the romance, and I didn’t find that much humor in the story.

Football star Everett Kingman seemed like a nice guy, but I have my doubts about a professional athlete being that hesitant to go after what he wants. Insecure curvy girl and personal assistant Penelope started out seeming incredibly lacking in social skills, and when she assaults Everett for no good reason, I really lost all respect for her. All of the characters have a tendency to act like violence is a perfectly acceptable way to resolve conflicts, and I was really frustrated with all of the casual threats or expectations of violence, as well as the completely unnecessary use of vulgar language.

The audiobook production was well done. I enjoyed the duel narration by Juniper Young for Penelope’s point of view and Aaron Shedlock for Everett’s point of view. Both narrators have good enunciation and pacing, distinct voices that suit the characters, and the ability to convey the tone and emotions of the story effectively. The story works well as an audiobook, as long as you can listen in private; with the foul language and explicit sex scenes, this is definitely NSFW or any other polite company.

I received a free advanced listening copy of the audiobook through NetGalley. I volunteered to provide an honest review.

Every woman wishes they could have a Kingman
I absolutely loved this story about two peoples journey to falling in love, it was light hearted at times, funny others and also spread an important message to us all to love the skin we’re in.
I loved Penelope and Everett’s characters and the storyline.
I also enjoyed all the interactions with their family and friends.
A really great feel good story with a powerful message that I highly recommend to read or listen to.
I was lucky enough to listen to the audiobook that was narrated by Aaron Sherlock and Juniper Young.
They did a fantastic job of reading this story making it an enjoyable listening experience.

This is my first audio book! I have been putting it off and putting it off, but so many people say how convenient they are and I was really interested in reading this book, so when the option to get an ARC of this became available, I jumped on it.

Since I'm not used to leaving audio book reviews, let me start by addressing the real difference, which are the narrators. I really liked that it was dual narrator and while I think they both did a great job, it felt like the male had more of a sort of pompous tone that made it hard to like the character.

Now, the story. It was steamy and while I liked the body positivity, it got old having to be reminded constantly that Kelsey was pushing it so hard on her socials. I guess that maybe that was something that made me like the book a little less: it revolved around social media. I don't partake in any of the platforms, so to have it be such a huge part of the plot was cringe to me. They were constantly talking about their next post, someone else's post, etc. that I was burnt out just trying to follow it. That was something else I realized I don't like about audio books- I tend to skim through cringy parts. You can't skim an audio book! There were a lot of face palm moments from Poppy, including the sheer amount of hashtags that the narrator had to read. Seriously, her first chapter I think there were close to 10 and they had to say hashtag in front of every...single ....one. That got old really fast.

Then there were the characters. I liked their chemistry and the way he seemed to feel about her, but she had to see him chase after all these pretty, skinny girls for awhile before they went for each other. I never like that, just a personal preference. But, while Everett seems like a nice, stand up guy and Poppy was a sweet, awkward girl to a point that doesn't feel like it's even possible for her to be more awkward, I think their path had a few too many obstacles thrown in and too many people dipping into their situation. I don't think these should be read as a standalone because a lot happens with the side characters who either had stories already or will get stories in the future.

Read if you're in the mood for something: emotional, funny, hopeful, inspiring, & medium-paced
Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
A diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

Book Rating: 4.75 stars
I received an Audio ARC from the publisher through Netgalley. All opinions are original and my own.

This book was very emotional but in a good way. It was a great body-positive romance. I truly enjoyed it. I loved that the author included the men's body image issues, as well as the part with their mother.
Everett's fear of snakes added some much-needed levity. I would have liked a tiny bit more spice though. I loved the ending with Kelsey's song and as well as Odin getting his comeuppance. I honestly wish we lived in the author's world and not the real world!
Overall, a realistic but still escapist romance, with a great body-positive message about loving yourself as you are.

Narrator Rating: 5.0 stars
The narrators did an amazing job, and it was nice to get some new narrators for the series to give the characters some unique voices.

Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming and Sexual content

Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, and Fatphobia

Minor: Death of a parent

Notes on CWs: Body shaming and fatphobia were done by others to the female main character and her friends.

Amy Award has done it again! An incredible new entry to the Cocky Kingman series leaves readers aching for more spicy, body positive romances with heart. Everett and Penelope’s story is full of laughter, sadness, and the trademark media storms that only Amy Award can depict in such an amazing way. Forbidden love and friends to lovers tropes make readers giddy, and I cannot wait for the bonus chapter and next Kingman book!

I absolutely love these Kingsman family books and love the “punny” titles! I really loved the laugh out loud moments in this book and honestly it could’ve been another 75 to 100 pages long and I would’ve loved it! I can’t wait to read the next book in the series and now have a new favorite author. She is definitely a must read author for me now highly recommend for a fan of spicy romcom style books. Enjoyed it tremendously!